Cameroon

Published in June 2025

International and regional conventions:

• United Nations Convention against Corruption ratified on 6 February 2006.
• Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units
• Economic Community of Central African States
• Action Group against Money-Laundering in Central Africa (GABAC)
• African Organization of Supreme Audit Institutions
• African Union Convention on Preventing and Combating Corruption of 2003 (signed June 2020)
• Regulation No. 01/CEMAC/UMAC/CM on the prevention and suppression of money-laundering and the financing of terrorism and weapons proliferation in Central Africa (the CEMAC Regulation)

Legislation:

• Law No. 96-6 of 18 January 1996 to amend the Constitution of 2 June, 1972
  • The Preamble to Cameroon’s 1996 Constitution expresses the country’s commitment to core human rights and freedoms as outlined in key international instruments, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the UN Charter, and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. This commitment specifically includes the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, and press freedom.

• Law No. 2016/007 of July 12, 2016 relating to the Penal Code
  • Section 134 (Active Corruption; Passive corruption; Exemption from Criminal Proceedings)
  • Section 184 (Misappropriation of Public Property)
  • Section 310 (Professional Confidence)
• Law No. 2005 of 27 July 2005 on the Criminal Procedure Code, Section 135

Financial crimes

• Act No. 2003-008 of 10 July 2003 on penalization of the violation of certain uniform acts of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa

Media rights and freedom of information

• Law No. 90-53 of 19 December 1990 (Relating to the freedom of association)

Institutions:

• National Anti-Corruption Commission (CONAC)
  • Décret n° 2006/088 du 11 mars 2006 portant création, organisation et fonctionnement de la Commission Nationale Anti-corruption
• Commission for the Declaration of Property and Assets
  • Established pursuant to Act No. 003/2006 of 25 April 2006 but not yet operational.
• The National Agency for Financial Investigation
  • Decree No. 2005/187 of 31 May 2005: organization and functioning of the National Agency for Financial Investigation

Programs and policies:

• National Anti-Corruption Strategy (adopted 2010 and updated for 2022–2026)
• Cameroon Anti-Corruption Youth Movement

Law proposals:

Cameroon lacks a dedicated whistleblower protection law.

However, there are discussions underway:

• Aug 2024: 8th African Anti-Corruption Day: CONAC hosted a training seminar on “effective whistleblower protection” and emphasized the importance of protecting whistleblowers.
• 2019: CONAC suggested that Cameroon should follow the US FCPA (rewards whistleblowers proportionally to assets recovered).

Backwards movement:

• July 16, 2024 decree issued in the Mfoundi division, where Yaoundé is located calling for the arrest of “anyone who dangerously insults the [state] institutions or the person who embodies them.” Issued to “preserve public order.” See Ministry of Communication press release.

Case studies

• 2008: Paul Eric Kingue, the former mayor of Njombé-Penja, was jailed for blowing the whistle on the bad business practices and pesticide use of banana plantations company 4Plantations du Haut Penja’. Since his arrest, he has been the subject of judicial harassment and has been accused of money laundering. Charges later dropped.
• 2019: Paul Chouta’s defamation case
  • CamerounWeb journalist
  • Arrested in May 2019 for “defamation and distributing false news.”